Tentative and Hedged Requests in Technical English
5 exercises — practise polite, softened request forms for code reviews and cross-team communication.
0 / 8 completed
1 / 8
A reviewer wants to politely ask a colleague to add tests, softening the request as much as possible. Choose the most tentative, diplomatic option:
"Would you mind adding tests for this function?" is the most tentative and diplomatic form: "would you mind" + gerund is one of the softest request structures in English, framing the ask as a favor rather than an instruction, which is well suited to code review comments where tone matters for team relationships. Option A is a bare imperative with no softening at all. Option B uses the obligation modal "must", which is direct and can come across as commanding rather than requesting. Option D adds "please" to an imperative, which is more polite than a bare command but still noticeably more direct and less tentative than the hedged question form in option C.
2 / 8
Choose the sentence that correctly uses "I was wondering if" to make a tentative request about extending a deadline:
"I was wondering if you could extend" is correct: "I was wondering if" (past continuous, even though it refers to the present moment) followed by "could" is a fixed, highly tentative request pattern — the past tense form ("was wondering" rather than "am wondering" or "wonder") adds an extra layer of psychological distance and politeness, a common feature of hedged English requests. Option B incorrectly uses "that" instead of "if" after "wondering" in this request pattern. Option C incorrectly mixes "can" with a gerund ("extending") instead of the base form after "could". Option D ("I wonder if...") is a valid but noticeably more direct and less tentative version than the past continuous form, since present tense here reads as more immediate and less softened.
3 / 8
A junior engineer needs to ask a senior architect a delicate question in a design review. Which sentence best combines hedging and politeness for a sensitive ask?
"I was hoping you could possibly walk me through... if you have a moment" stacks multiple hedging devices — "I was hoping" (tentative past framing), "could possibly" (double softening with modal + adverb), and the conditional tag "if you have a moment" (giving an easy out) — making it the most diplomatically cushioned option for a junior asking a senior a potentially sensitive question about their design choices. Option A is a direct question that, while not rude, offers no softening and could sound like a challenge in a sensitive context. Options C and D are bare imperatives, which are too blunt for this power-distance and social context, even though they are grammatically correct commands.
4 / 8
Choose the sentence with correct grammar for "Could you possibly..." as a hedged request:
"Could you possibly review" is correct: "could" (modal) + "possibly" (adverb softening the request) + base verb form is the standard structure — the adverb "possibly" is inserted between the modal and the main verb without needing "to" or a gerund, since "review" remains a bare infinitive after the modal "could". Option B incorrectly inserts "to" before the base verb, which is never used directly after a modal verb. Option C incorrectly uses the gerund "reviewing" instead of the base form required after a modal. Option D confuses the adverb "possibly" with the adjective "possible", which cannot grammatically sit between a modal and a main verb.
5 / 8
A support engineer needs to ask a customer for logs without sounding demanding. Which sentence is the LEAST appropriate (too direct) for this professional, customer-facing context?
"Send us the logs now." is the least appropriate for a customer-facing professional context: it is a bare imperative with the added time pressure of "now", which reads as demanding and lacks any of the softening devices expected in polite business correspondence. The other three options all use recognized hedging patterns — "could you... when you get a chance" (modal + flexible time frame), "would it be possible to" (passive, impersonal hedge that avoids directly naming who must act), and "I was wondering if you might be able to" (stacked tentative framing with "might" and "be able to") — all of which soften the request appropriately for addressing a customer.
6 / 8
You're a backend developer and need to request that another team update the API documentation for a newly exposed endpoint. Choose the sentence that best uses 'I would appreciate...' to make a tentative request: Context: Slack message to the DevOps team.
Using 'I would appreciate' is a classic example of hedging. It expresses your desire without being demanding. Options 2 and 4 are direct requests, while option 3 shifts the focus to deployment rather than the initial request for documentation updates. This highlights the nuance of politely requesting something from another team.
7 / 8
As a QA engineer, you need to suggest a small improvement to a colleague's code. Which of the following requests is the most tentative and polite?
Context: You've identified a minor bug but want to avoid sounding critical.
Option 1 uses 'was wondering if' and 'consider' which are highly polite and non-demanding. Options 2, 3, and 4 are direct commands or requests that could come across as critical or demanding. The key is to soften the request with phrases expressing a suggestion rather than an expectation.
8 / 8
A developer needs to ask another team for clarification on a complex database schema. Which of the following sentences best uses 'I was hoping' to make a tentative request?
Context: You're seeking guidance without implying that the current documentation is insufficient.
Option 1 employs 'I was hoping' which expresses a desire for information rather than a demand. It frames the request as a hopeful expectation, reducing potential pressure. The other options are direct requests and could be perceived as critical or overly assertive.
What will I practise in "Tentative and Hedged Requests in Technical English — IT Grammar Exercise"?
Practise softened request forms — would you mind, I was wondering if, could you possibly, would it be possible to — for diplomatic communication in code
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 8 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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Articles explain grammar rules in prose; this exercise tests and reinforces those rules through active recall with immediate feedback — the two work best together.
Who writes these exercises?
Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.